Joe Frazier ,Wins The F.O.T.C, how did it decline from there ?

Turner was originally Kovalev's head coach, but found Kovalev too difficult to work with as did Sanchez. When Jackson took over as head coach Turner came in to assist Jackson as a favor to Jackson.

Here is Kovalev making excuses on why everybody was at fault but him.

"When I came to America and worked with Don Turner and then Abel Sanchez and then John David Jackson, I never felt a connection," Kovalev said. "They didn't really work with me personally. It felt like they clocked in and clocked out. There was no connection. It also hurt that I didn't really understand English, especially when I first got here, so I didn't have a connection outside of the drills they told me to do. What I knew as an amateur is what I did in the ring as a professional, and I think that led to my two losses, but I think I'm in a better place now thanks to my trainer."


"I listen to the advice if it's the right advice," Kovalev said. "I can hear what he's saying, but if the coach is telling me I had a good round or didn't have a good round, believe me, I understand myself how the round was. I have a filter when it comes to advice and my ears don't hear bad advice. [Jackson] didn't give me good advice, but I'm happy now with my coach, and it's really important that we speak the same language."

 

So . . . what did he do that makes him a great trainer? FYI my mind is absolutely open on this one.

 

With all great trainers the greatest thing is being able to say the right thing at just the right time during a fight using the fewest amount of words. To simplify things during a moment of panic. And this takes a lot of experience. Everyone can understand boxing. It’s being able to stay calm and offer The right reassurance to employ the best tactical response in the right situation. I think Don did this. The fighters identified with him and understood him.

One example was where the ref took a fighter to him who was going to be disqualified for holding. I think it was Henry Akinwande. What do you tell a fighter in that situation when the crowd is going crazy? Don just looked at him and said “all you gotta do is fight” it wasn’t complicated. But it was the right thing to say. It didn’t work. But it was a better response than Golota once got when he was trying to quit in the same kind of situation against Mike Tyson.

I think Don is a great trainer because more people say he is than those that say that he isn’t. And there are a lot of other great trainers. I think Don did a good job with all of the guys he had and he has been around long enough to draw from a lot of experiences being in the camps with a great many great champions.

There is an element Self promotion about all of the famous trainers. They all talk themselves up. I 100% include Manny Steward in this. And can tell you first hand it was evident meeting him. It is not a bad thing.

What they bring to the table is experience. Big fight experience. The experience of being around all of the B.S that goes on. The reassurance that comes with that. The pressure. Staying calm. Much of it is personality and temperament. I remember Ray Leonard saying Angelo Dundee was not especially the best trainer in regards to what he could teach but said that he was worth having around because he was able to say what was needed to be said and the time you needed to hear it.

The whole thing is not rocket science. And it is probably why boxers experiment so much with many different trainers. I won’t knock any of the top trainers. They are in a very competitive industry where it is difficult to stand out.

If Don Turner is a bad trainer or a con man then so are all of the others.

 

i was trying to be kind